Strays | Levi x OC

Chapter 11

The cobblestone streets eventually snaked into the heart of Trost. A sense of déjà vu struck Karma. It had been a month since she'd left, but it felt very much the same as she remembered it; the city had been rebuilt as though a massive Titan attack never happened. There were no reeking corpses, steaming puddles of blood, or crumbling mounds of rubble.

HQ loomed before them, a stone building shaped into a square that surrounded an open courtyard. Jutting dormer windows felt like eyes, watching their advance.

Karma's blood simmered, the heat rising with every meter that dissolved between her and the place that stole her captain. By the time they pulled up to the main entrance and docked their horse, it reached boiling point.

"Hang on, Karma!" Jean called, panting and running to catch up. She'd sprinted up the steps and was ready to throw the door wide open, swords swinging.

"Hurry! We might already be too late." Her body was shaking with impatience. Levi was in there somewhere, taking the fall for both of them. They needed to rescue him. The Scouts depended on it. She depended on it.

"I know, but damn do we need to sprint?" He clutched the stitch in his side and opened the door with his shoulder. "Follow me." Jean ushered them through a labyrinth of stairs and corridors until they reached the Commander's office.

"This is it."

From the other side of the thick door came a muffled conversation of deep men's voices. Karma grasped the golden doorknob, but Jean raised a hand to stop her.

"What? Shouldn't we go in?" Karma said.

"Shhh. We need to be strategic." Jean pressed his ear against the door. "They're asking if the defense has anything to add." He paused, listening.

"Well?" Karma's fingers were tapping against her leg.

Jean repositioned his ear. "I can't hear anything. I guess he's not defending himself. Oh, they're moving to the verdict—"

Karma shoved him out of the way.

"So much for strategizing..." Jean grumbled, clambering after Karma as she burst into the room, shouting:

"Wait! Stop!"

Commander-in-Chief Zachary jolted in his leather chair, crinkling the stapled papers he was reading from.

Levi was seated at the head of a long, wooden table. He was disheveled—mismatched buttons on his white shirt. Cuffed wrists. Crinkled forehead and eye bags like he hadn't slept in weeks. He'd only been locked up for a few hours—what on earth had they put him through?

Karma and Jean move to stand beside him. Levi's wide eyes flickered between them. "What the hell are you guys doing?"

"Saving your dumb ass," Jean said.

Seated around the table and decked in full uniform was a council of the military's most prominent figures. Silk sashes, shoulder pads, brass buttons. They were neatly poised and unsettlingly calm.

Karma straightened and addressed the officers. "You can't demote or dismiss Captain Levi until you hear my side."

Commander Zachary was pinching the bridge of his nose. "He confessed to a relationship with an inferior officer and is taking full responsibility. Jean, kindly return to your regiment. Miss Karma, your testimony is unnecessary."

"With all due respect, Commander, a relationship takes two people."

"Yeah, we're not leaving," Jean said, folding his arms.

Levi closed his eyes and shook his head. "You can't change their minds. Go home. You guys have an expedition tomorrow."

"So do you," Jean said, bumping his shoulder. "You're not getting out of it that easy."